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Treaty of Selymbria

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TheTreaty of Selymbriawas an agreement concluded on 3 September 1411 between theRepublic of Veniceand theOttomanprinceMusa Çelebi,ruler of the European portion of the Ottoman Empire (Rumelia), atSelymbria.The treaty largely repeated previous agreements between Venice and Ottoman rulers, and recognized the possessions of the Republic inGreeceandAlbania.

Background[edit]

Venice had been among the signatories of theTreaty of Gallipoliin 1403 withSüleyman Çelebi,ruler of the European part of theOttoman Empire.Renewed in 1409, it ensured a period of peaceful relations between the Republic and the Ottomans, in exchange for the payment of an annual tribute by Venice.[1]In 1410–11 however, Süleyman was defeated and overthrown by his brother,Musa Çelebi.[2]Unlike Süleyman, Musa, who relied greatly on theakinjiraiders, followed a policy extremely hostile to his Christian neighbours. The attacks against both theByzantine EmpireandSerbia,that had stopped after 1403, resumed.[3]

Following Süleyman's defeat and death, the Venetians initially prevaricated; their payments to the Ottomans were allowed to lapse, but thebailo(permanent envoy) in the Byzantine capital,Constantinople,was ordered to contact Musa and assure him of the Republic's peaceful intentions, while Venice debated on the proper course of action. A motion to take advantage of the occasion and try to seizeGallipoliwas defeated at theVenetian Senate,and finally, on 4 June 1411, the Senate appointedGiacomo Trevisanas its ambassador to Musa. While acknowledging that due to ongoing developments he should exercise his own judgment as needed, the Senate provided Trevisan with detailed instructions—according to historian Dimitris Kastritsis, "a rare glimpse into the complex situation in Rumeli as perceived by Venice in late spring and early summer of 1411, a time about which little is otherwise known."[1]

Trevisan's instructions[edit]

Map of the southern Balkans and western Anatolia in 1410. Ottoman and Turkish territories are marked in shades of brown, Byzantine territory in pink, and Venetian and Venetian-influenced areas in green

Trevisan was instructed to repeat the customary congratulations and assurances of the Republic's good will. In order to gain Musa's favour, he was also to hint that other "princes and communities" had offered to join Venice against Musa, but that the Republic had rebuffed them, preferring to renew with Musa the good relations she had enjoyed with his predecessors.[4]Trevisan was to ensure that any treaty included the Venetian possessions and protectorates in Greece: the cities and fortresses ofPteleos,Argos,Nauplia,Lepanto,CoronandModon,the islands ofCrete,Negroponte(Euboea),Lepanto,Tinos,andMykonos.[4]The peaceful and unmolested navigation in theDardanellesand the vicinity ofTenedos[a]was to be guaranteed, and the provision of the 1403 treaty for the cession of a strip of land five miles wide on the mainland shore across Euboea reaffirmed.[4]

Trevisan was also to raise the issue of the city ofPatras,which Venice had been leasing since 1408 from itsLatin Archbishop,Stephen Zaccaria.In 1409 the Venetians had agreed to pay 500ducatsper annum for the city and its environs, but Trevisan was instructed to ensure that henceforth the tribute would be levied on thePrince of Achaea,Centurione II Zaccaria,since the city was not formally Venetian territory. If pressed, however, he was authorized to pay the sum, but demand that in future, the payment was to be arranged with the Prince of Achaea and the Latin Archbishop.[6]In a similar manner, Venice'spossessions in Albaniawere also to be included in the treaty. Trevisan was to stop inDalmatiaand Albania on his way east and inquire about the wider political situation: through a local notary, Venice had concluded an agreement withPasha Yiğit Bey,ruler ofSkopje,for the protection of their possessions in Albania againstBalša IIIand other local rulers, in exchange for an annual sum of 500ducats,but the Senate was not aware if Pasha Yiğit was still alive, or what his position in Musa's regime was. Trevisan was to ascertain the situation, acquire documents about which territories were under Venetian control at the time, and renew the agreement of protection on the same terms.[7]A further topic of concern for the Republic was theMarquisate of Bodonitzain central Greece, which was ruled by the VenetianZorzifamily. The small principality had recently been conquered by the Ottomans, with the MarquisJacob Zorzibeing killed and his heirNicholas II Zorzitaken captive. Trevisan was to negotiate for the release of the latter, the restitution of his domains, and his inclusion in the treaty.[6]

With respect to the tribute owed to Musa, Trevisan was instructed that the same sums as stipulated in 1409 should be aimed for: 1,000 ducats for Albania, to be paid every August, along with 100 ducats for Lepanto, and the 500 ducats for Patras.[8]If Musa demanded the back payment of 1,000 ducats owed to Süleyman, he should argue that as Balša had been allowed toattackthe Venetian possessions in Albania in the meantime, the payment was void; but if Musa insisted, Trevisan should again concede the sum, except for 17,800akçessubtracted for a shipment of slaves captured from the Venetian merchant Niccolò Barbo.[9]Trevisan was also authorized to offer further sums to Musa's main lieutenants, most notablyMihaloğlu Mehmed Bey,Pasha Yiğit, andEvrenos.The money was to be spent at his own discretion following his assessment of their place at Musa's court.[8]If the negotiations for a treaty proved successful, he was to secure writtenfirmansfrom Musa to his local commanders informing them of the fact.[6]If, on the other hand, a treaty was not possible, Trevisan should at least try to secure a truce of one year.[10]If either failed, then he was to go to Constantinople, inform Venice of developments, and begin negotiations for a Christian league with theByzantine emperor,Manuel II Palaiologos.Manuel had previously sent for Venice to send him envoys to discuss such affairs; consequently Trevisan was instructed to keep the original purpose of his mission east secret.[11]

To assist in his mission, Trevisan was given copies of the previous agreements and of the letters by previous Venetian envoys, as well as letters of accreditation to Pasha Yiğit and to Musa's brotherMehmed Çelebi,in case he should have overthrown Musa by the time Trevisan arrived—a clear indication of "how complicated and uncertain the situation in Rumeli had become" by that point.[11]He was assigned an interpreter, Francesco Gezo of Modon, and given a salary of 250 ducats for the first four months, and a monthly salary of 30 ducats after that. He was to be conveyed east on thegalleyof the VenetianCaptain of the Gulf.[12]

Conclusion of the treaty[edit]

Already before Trevisan arrived in the area, Venice's local representatives had reached a preliminary agreement, through the mediation of a certain Pietro dei Greci ( "Peter of the Greeks" ). The agreement was already in effect by 7 June, and the ships captured by Musa had been returned with their crews, although the confiscated merchandise had not. Trevisan reached the Ottoman prince's camp by late July, and the final treaty was arranged on 12 August outside Constantinople, which Musa wasbesiegingat the time. Nevertheless, due to some disagreements between the two sides, a formal ratification was delayed until 3 September, by which time Musa had moved to lay siege toSelymbria.Trevisan had also left, and the treaty was signed in his stead by the Captain of the Gulf,Pietro Loredan.[12]

AVenetianversion of the text is preserved in the Venetian archives.[12]According to its provisions, the relations between the two powers were to be peaceful, as regulated by the previous treaties of 1403 and 1409. Venice's possessions, including its recent acquisitions in Albania, were confirmed, under the condition that thebailoat Constantinople would pay a tribute of 1,000 ducats each August. Its possession of Lepanto was also recognized, but only of the city and the immediately adjacent buildings and fields, for which 100 ducats in tribute were to be paid. For the city of Patras the tribute remained at 500 ducats, but it would be negotiated separately between Musa, and thebailoof Constantinople and the Latin Archbishop of Patras.[13]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^Tenedos itself had been depopulated and demilitarized under the terms of theTreaty of Turin (1381)between Venice and Genoa.[5]

References[edit]

  1. ^abKastritsis 2007,p. 172.
  2. ^Kastritsis 2007,pp. 135–158.
  3. ^Kastritsis 2007,pp. 161–169.
  4. ^abcKastritsis 2007,p. 173.
  5. ^Setton 1976,pp. 321–326.
  6. ^abcKastritsis 2007,p. 175.
  7. ^Kastritsis 2007,pp. 173–174, 176–177.
  8. ^abKastritsis 2007,pp. 173–174.
  9. ^Kastritsis 2007,pp. 174–175.
  10. ^Kastritsis 2007,pp. 175–176.
  11. ^abKastritsis 2007,p. 176.
  12. ^abcKastritsis 2007,p. 177.
  13. ^Kastritsis 2007,pp. 177–178.

Sources[edit]

  • Kastritsis, Dimitris (2007).The Sons of Bayezid: Empire Building and Representation in the Ottoman Civil War of 1402–13.BRILL.ISBN978-90-04-15836-8.
  • Setton, Kenneth M.(1976).The Papacy and the Levant (1204–1571), Volume I: The Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries.Philadelphia: The American Philosophical Society.ISBN0-87169-114-0.
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